Yuan Shu

Yuan Shu (155-199 AD) was a Chinese warlord who played a key role in the fall of the Later Han dynasty, taking the title of Guardian over Emperor Liu Xie until his defeat in 199 AD at the hands of a great coalition led by Cao Cao.

Biography
Yuan Shu was the younger cousin and half-brother of warlord Yuan Shao and was born of noble lineage to the Yuan Family. Yuan Shu participated in the Yellow Turban Campaign of 184 AD as a loyalisty general for the Later Han alongside his cousin, and in 189 AD, he led an army corps to slaughter the Ten Eunuchs, who had taken over power in the Han court after killing regent He Jin. Soon after, brutal general Dong Zhuo took over the Han in the power vacuum, so Yuan Shu took part in a coalition formed by Cao Cao against Dong Zhuo, serving as support for Sun Jian and the Chief of the Commissariat. He notoriously refused to send supplies to Sun Jian at the Battle of Si Shui Gate with the excuse that Hu Zhen was blocking the supply route, but he did so only out of jealousy for Sun Jian's appointment in a position that he coveted: commander of the Allied Forces.

After the defeat of Dong Zhuo, Yuan Shu was given the Imperial Seal by Sun Jian, who was an ally of his. He felt that the seal made him as good as the Emperor, bringing him into conflict with Yuan Shao and Cao Cao. When Sun Jian died in 192 AD in a failed attack on Yuan Shao's ally Liu Biao, Yuan Shu instead allied with renegade commanders Lu Bu, Chen Lan, and Yang Fang, the latter two bandit leaders. He was forced out of Yang Province in 197 AD by the combined armies of the former Prefect of Xu Liu Bei and Sun Jian's son Sun Ce, who was trying to conquer the Wu Territory from the regional lords Liu Yong, Wang Lang, and Yan Baihu. Yuan Shu lost a potential ally in the Sun Family, and instead focused on defending his lands from the coalition that Cao Cao had formed against him. Chen Lan and Yang Feng deserted his side for the Coalition, and he fled in support of Lu Bu when the latter rebelled against Liu Bei and Cao Cao in Xuzhou in 198 AD. However, when a water attack destroyed Xiaopei Castle and demoralized Lu Bu's army, Yuan Shu refused to aid a losing cause and retreated from the battlefield.

After a string of defeats from Cao Cao and Liu Bei, Yuan Shu started to lose support and decided to flee north to Yuan Shao, who was now an enemy of Cao Cao. In 199 AD, Yuan Shu's Forces were besieged in Shou Chun Castle by an alliance of Liu Bei, Cao Cao, and Sun Ce, and all of his loyal officers were slain or executed. Yuan Shao's son Yuan Tan was sent to assist Yuan Shu but arrived too late, as Yuan Shu had been eliminated. While retreating from Shouchun, Yuan Shu was struck down by Sun Shang Xiang, and died of wounds and grief after the conclusion of the battle.